


A Joker on Hold

by TedizStalker



Category: Bx: Execute (OFF Fangame), UNLOAD (OFF Fangame)
Genre: But only one of them can be heard, DND reference, Gen, It's that master and servant share the vessle, Maybe - Freeform, Might be confusing, Multiverse Theory, Short and brief, arguably non-canon, butterfly effect theory?, edits were made, not multiple personality disorder, potential time travel theory?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:11:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26460172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TedizStalker/pseuds/TedizStalker
Summary: Mors is usually a busy individual.So when something urgent comes up, they have to investigate, hand out Super Jokers, and Bennies for all.
Kudos: 4





	A Joker on Hold

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes my thoughts run rampant surrounding UNLOAD.
> 
> This is one of them. And I dunno how M portrays Death the 4th, but this is my take.
> 
> Take it with a grain of salt; it's not canon.

“They’ve interrupted my busy schedule for this?”

A lone figure, cloaked in black, with a wispy hood, a black dress going down to their knees, a red ribbon tied in a way that almost looks like a windmill, a red belt, and black shoes, stands at a bleak station. Heading down the rails to the left is the Nothingness. Heading to the right, more of the same. Perhaps an infinite loop of purgatory. Where souls go when they have no way to tell if they will arrive at the gates to Heaven or Hell.  
And this is where they come in to help speed up the process. Being generally unliked does take a toll on their conscience, but by now they have grown used to it. So much so, a goofy side of them is starting to return in their mannerisms.

“Well, I guess you have a point.” they state to no one in particular, or perhaps to the unheard servant in their head, “We may, or may not, stand in the mainstream of the multiverse. When faced with a crossroad of choices, or conflict, often two or more options will pop up. The option not selected will branch off and form its own reality. It’s true what the Powers that be say: you, in all your infinite existence, can be the most formidable force known to man; but you still cannot be in two places at once.”

They glance down, looking at the list once again.

“Guess I was lucky to have chosen to listen to that grunt before he went giant.” a pause, “No, I did _not_ look stupid in those shades. Go fuck yourself, for five minutes.”

The sound of brakes screeching gets their attention, stopping their one-sided vocal chatter for a second and looking up from their list. On this ride is said to be the four souls they need to have a word with.

“So, how many do you think will _want_ to forget the past?” One more pause before finally stepping on, “But if _any_ of them ask for a tea cup…”

~~

“I guess it doesn’t matter.”

A spirit with a form, surrounded by souls with a familiar essence to them, utters as he gets comfortable in his seat on the tram.

“Nothing did.” He adds, closing his eyes. Nothing did, indeed. He cannot remember anything.

He didn’t know for how long he had his eyelids closed for, but the screeching of brakes did get him to pry one open. The doors open, and a dark figure boards the train. They don’t look like the darkened inhabitant souls taking up other seats.

What unnerved him is that it sits on the row of seats opposite from them, facing them. Looking into their red eyes made the spirit feel at unease.

“What do you want?”

“That’s what I want to know, 81.” they replied, sounding snarky.

 _‘Hold on a second.’_ 81 saw the sketches of those black rings with a vertical line between them before he sat down. If that drawing is the face of Death the 4th… then…

“You, along with Ylidomda, Zinzo, and Mark, all have some unfinished business in the land of the living. But it looks like the artificial entity, dubbed Pure Knight, has knocked the anamnesis out of you. Which is funny.” they begin to chuckle, a grey hand without an arm held to their mouth as their red eyes squint with mirth, “He’s forgotten who he is, too.”

“So… you’re Death?” the ball of light next to 81 speaks up, “And we don’t remember anything? Can you help us remember?”

“I guess I could. But for some of you, the past is a painful experience.”

Death pauses, frowning as another internal bicker is held. They look at their list over again.

“As I was saying; for some of you, the past is painful. If you don’t learn from it, you will be doomed to repeat some, if not all of your past mistakes. If you choose not to retain these memories, I can wipe them clean from your essence, but it will make your unfinished business all that much harder to complete. And I will say this now; the cost of forgetting is high.”

“So what can we do?” 81 asks. The souls that vaguely resemble a plastic servant, a Boxxer without eyes, and an ectoplasmic swan all turn their heads to Death at this question. The ball of light seated next to 81 glows a little brighter, as though paying attention.

“What you can do is make a choice.”  
At this, Death the 4th produces four Super Jokers. “These will restore your memory in full on top of bringing you back to life, in a state prior to death. But it depends on whether you want to keep those memories or not. Hold onto your card. Go to sleep. Explore the inner catacombs of your past. Learn from it, or forget about it. After you wake, it will be your turn to roll the dice.”

The spirit of 81 takes a card offered to him, feeling his soul race as he looks at it with his hollowed eyes. Printed on it is the same grinning man that has been haunting him in the encrypted ruins of the knights; Ballman.

“Would you look at that? All four of you have drawn a Joker. Four benefit tokens for all.”

“…I don’t get it.” the ball of light says, miffed.

“Tabletop RPG reference.”A brief pause from Death before they continue, “While I’m on that subject; you can either make a move once you come out of your anamnestic-induced coma, or you may go on hold. But as the holder of a Joker, you can either go immediately, or you can wait to interrupt an enemy’s turn.”

81 looks at his Joker again.

“So… it’s as simple as going to sleep?”

~~

They will leave the future in the party’s hands now. It’s all they can do, but if any one of the four choose to abandon the past rather than learn from it, their job will have to be put on hold, yet again, to help wipe their essence clean. Or, if not that, guide them to the afterlife.

Mors steps onto the station platform, looking at a carmine sunset.

“How many do you think will want to forget?” they ask themselves, unblinking. “With permission from the Powers, we could hop on over to those branches and observe what consequences happen as a result of them wishing to forget. It could be catastrophic, or even anti-climatic. I can only think of one that will want to forget everything anyway, but only because the grief hurt the psyche… but for everyone’s sake, she has to stand strong.”

They shove their hands in their pockets as they hear another inquiry from their servant.

“That’s a good question. Maybe this branch in history isn’t the mainstream timeline either, but even we can’t be in two places at once. Nor can we time travel, not without permission. All we can do is be efficient with our time; Rather than waste it, we don’t stop moving. Pestilence will buy us some time by intercepting Pure Knight. But whether he succeeds or not… I dunno.”

The watch on their wrist beeps. They give it a glance, then look down the rails that the tram has continued onward in.

“Another dozen souls need harvesting. And we’ve kept them waiting in limbo long enough.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you squint, Death might be referencing an entirely different fandom, too.


End file.
